The present invention relates generally to optical computer processing and specifically to the design of a logic circuit from a set of shaded optical prisms that each may contain one or more quantum dots.
Unlike conventional electrical circuits, which represent bits of data as variations in voltage levels of an electrical signal, optical (or “photonic”) circuitry represents data as variations in light intensity of a photonic signal. Such light may be introduced to the circuit by any known means, such as by an external laser or a UV light sources.
Photonic circuits offer advantages over electrical circuits like as lower power consumption, less heat generation, and the theoretic ability to achieve greater processing speeds and physically smaller circuits. These benefits may be especially important in newer classes of devices that require smaller, higher-performance, and more efficient processing capabilities, such as quantum computers and next-generation mobile or embedded devices.
Current efforts to exploit the advantages of photonic computing aim to integrate discrete optical circuits into electrical computer systems. This approach, however sacrifices some of the benefits of optical processing. For example, a hybrid optoelectronic device may waste a significant amount of power or reduce data-transmission speed every time it must translate information-carrying signals between electrical and photonic formats.
An all-optical computer processor would overcome many of these problems, but there is currently no way to efficiently manufacture optical logic circuits in a manner capable of being scaled up to facilitate high-volume commercial manufacturing.
There is thus a need for a way to design and manufacture optical logic gates capable of being used as building blocks for more complex circuits like optical computer processors.